Mounting assembly for looms and the like

ABSTRACT

An assembly is disclosed for mounting and supporting looms and other machines in which vibration produced during operation is controlled. The assembly includes a first plate which is adapted to support the foot of the loom on one surface and a second plate which is attached to and supports the first plate. Resilient means such as a grommet are positioned between and interconnect the first and second plates.

United States Patent 1 Williams et al.

[451 July 31, 1973 MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR LOOMS AND THE LIKE [75]Inventors: Arthur Williams; Donald Ray Davenport, both of Greenville,S.C.

[7 3] Assignee: Richen 1nc., Greenville, S.C.

[22] Filed: Oct. 19, 1970 [2]] Appl. No.: 81,931

[52] US. Cl 248/24, 248/22, 248/358 R [51] Int. Cl F161 15/00 [58] Field01 Search 248/7, 9, 10, 15,

[56] References Cited UNITED STATES PATENTS 10/1955 Thannhauser 248/9 X1/1961 Reuter... 248/8 X 11/1966 Engels 248/22 6/1936 Swennes et a1.248/7 3,311,331 3/1967 Steimen 248/24 X 2,547,075 4/1951 Cook 248/242,397,804 4/1946 Nakken et a1 248/20 UX FOREIGN PATENTS OR APPLICATIONS738,791 7/1943 Germany 248/20 159,589 7/1957 Sweden 248/358 R PrimaryExaminer-J. Franklin Foss AttorneyLyon & Lyon [57] ABSTRACT 12 Claims, 5Drawing Figures MOUNTING ASSEMBLY FOR LOOMS AND THE LIKE BACKGROUND OFTHE INVENTION In weaving mills in which fabric is produced from yarn,efficient utilization of the available facilities requires that largenumbers of looms be mounted in rather closely spaced relation. The mostfrequently used method of mounting simply has been to bolt the feet ofthe loom directly and rigidly to the floor on which it rests. Due to theinherent manner of operation, however, looms produce severe vibrationduring operation. This is an especially acute problem since even a smallloom weighs several hundred pounds and such a mass oscillating back andforth continuously at a rather high rate of speed produces significantstrain upon the floor and can actually cause. the floor to crack and theentire building to be seriously weakened.

Moreover, since even a small mill may have 100 or 500 or more loomsoperating at the same time, it is en-.

tirely feasible that the building can be weakened to the point ofcollapse, particularly in situations where adjacent looms are operatingin a substantially syncronized manner.

In previous attempts to solve this problem rubber or felt pads have beeninserted beneath the loom end frames between the loom feet and the fioorhopefully to suppress the vibrations. This has not been successful,however, since the feet of the loom are still in direct contact with andconnected to the floor by bolts or other connecting means. In fact, inany arrangement where the loom is bolted or otherwise mounted directlyand rigidly on the floor, it is exceedingly difficult to SUMMARY OF THEINVENTION It is a principal object of the present invention, therefore,to provide an assembly for mounting looms in which the vibration of theloomduring operation is controlled by substantially eliminatingtransmission of the vibrations to the floor and building. Such assemblyincludes a first plate which is adapted to support the foot of the loomon one surface and'a second plate attached to and supporting the firstplate. Resilient means are positioned between the first and secondplates and connect the same together, whereby the first plate and loomsupported thereon can vibrate during normal operation in a planeparallel to they second plate.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a mountingassembly which is positioned directly on the mill floor and the loom issupported thereon simply by positioning one assembly beneath each footof the loom.

It is still a further object of this invention to provide an assemblyfor mounting looms and similar machines in which the assembly need notbe physically connected to the mill floor.

Yet another object of this invention is the provision of a mountingassembly for looms and the like in which the loom is supported on theassembly without direct or positive attachment thereto.

DESCRIPTION OF PREFERRED EMBODIMENTS In the drawings:

FIG. I is a fragmentary perspective view illustrating the mountingassembly of this invention supporting a loom.

FIG. 2 is a top plan view of the mounting assembly.

FIG. 3 is an enlarged section view taken on line 3-3 of FIG. 2.

FIG. 4 is a section view taken along line 4-4 of FIG. 3.

FIG. 5 is a partial section view illustrating a further embodiment ofthe mounting assembly.

Referring now more particularly to the drawings, FIG. I illustratesthemounting assembly designated generally by the numeral 1 positionedbeneath a loom supporting the feet 2 of the loom, which is illustratedonly schematically and denoted by the numeral 3. As will be appreciated,the mounting assembly is placed in position to support the loom merelyby raising the loom and positioning properly the mounting assemblybeneath the loom feet. Once the loom is thus positioned, it is ready foruse without further adjustment or modification.

. ing'of an abrasivesubstance, denoted by numeral 5,

which may be a crocus-type material. The abrasive can be applieddirectly to the surface of the plate 4 as-for example in the form of amixture of the abrasive and a pressure sensitive adhesive.Alternatively, the abrasive can be in the form of a preformed layer andapplied to the plate 4 by a coatingof a suitable adhesive.

A secondplate 6 is positioned underneath and attached to the first plate5, as shown most clearly in FIG. 3. Resilient means such as rubbergrommets 7 are positioned between plates 4 and 6 adjacent to the twoends thereof to interconnect the plates. The grommets contain a pair of'studs8 and 9 embedded therein having enlarged ends 10 and 11 to anchorthe studs within the stud 9 has a nut 12 attached to its lower extremityon the underside of plate 6. To accommodate looms of different sizes,however, the upper stud 8 preferably is threadedly attached to plate 4through threaded hole 13. Alternatively, of course, studs 8 may bewelded to plate 4. g I

Since the top plate 4 is connected to the second plate 6 through theresilient grommets 7, plate 4 and the loom supported thereon are free tomove relative to plate 6 which permits the loom to vibrate during normaloperation in a plane parallel to the floor on which it is supportedwithout the vibrations being transmitted to the floor. As previously,indicated, the grommets are formed of. a resilient material, neoprenerubber being one example. Other such materials may also be used,however, including any of the available synthetic rubbers such asbutadiene styrene rubber.

The assembly also includes bearing means positioned between plates 4 and6 to help support plate 4 when the loom or other machine is mountedthereon. During operation, plate 4, which will vibrate with the loom,will contact the upper surface of bearing means 15, sliding there-acrossas the loom vibrates, which helps to keep the loom from moving off ofplate 4 and also helps to prevent rocking of the loom and mountingassembly on the floor. The bearing means are attached to plate 6preferably by countersunk rivets 16, although other standard attachmentmeans can also be used if desired.

The bearing means 15 are formed of a material which has a lowcoefficient of friction, one suitable example beingpolytetrafluoroethylene (Teflon"). Other suitable examples include nyloncontaining molybdenum disulfide and high molecular weight polyethylenesuch as that sold by Commercial Plastics under the tradename Conco UHMW1,900.

The assembly also preferably includes a pair of vibration padspositioned underneath plate 6 at its two ends in substantial alignmentwith the resilient grommets 7. The vibration pads can be formed of amaterial such as neoprene cork and are bonded to the underside of plate6 by any suitable adhesive. The pads include a hole 21 to accommodatenuts 12 attached to studs 9. The vibration pads help to prevent the loomend mounting assembly from walking" when the loom vibrates duringoperation and also facilitates dampening or suppression of the verticalvibrations. If desired, the vibration pads may be bonded to the millfloor to help retain the loom and mounting assembly in a fixed position.

Shims, such as standard washers, may be positioned beneath the resilientgrommet between the grommets and the top surface of plate 6, such asshown by numeral 23, to accommodate looms of different weights. Shimmingthe top plate away from the lower plate, results in the loom compressingthe grommet changing the spring rate of the resilient material of thegrommets, thereby allowing heavy looms to have similar characteristicsto the lighter looms.

As shown in FIG. 3, the second plate 6 is, in one form, of an angularconfiguration comprising flat sections 6"adjacent the two ends and inthe central por- In FIG. 5, a further embodiment of the mountingassembly is illustrated which utilizes a single resilient grommet 30positioned between plates 31 and 32. The upper plate 31 has an abrasivecoating 33 thereon, and the loom foot would be positioned upon theabrasive coating as described previously. The resilient grommet is ofthe same construction as shown in FIG. 3 and includes studs 34 and 35connecting the grommet to plates 31 and 32, respectively. In thisembodiment, bearing means 36 are provided adjacent the ends of plates 31and 32 and are attached to plate 32 by countersunk rivets 37. Vibrationpads 38 are also provided underneath plate 32 at the ends thereof. Themounting assembly is otherwise essentially the same as the embodiment ofFIGS. 2 through 4 and hence will not be further described. I

When the loom is operated, it will vibrate laterally in a plane parallelto the floor without substantial restriction since the resilientgrommets are attached to the upper and lower plates by independent andunconnected studs embedded therein. The resilient grommets thus take theactual vibration load of the loom in the form of a shear force as theloom is allowed to slide back and forth. The natural dampening of theresilient grommets also takes the shock load out of the loom beat-upmotion and thus eliminates transmission of the vibrations to the millfloor.

Although the mounting assembly has been illustrated and describedprincipally for use with a loom, the assembly can, of course, be used tomount other machines, as for example a flat bed knitting machine,wherein vibration caused by normal operation is a significant problem.By the same token, a plurality of mounting assemblies can be used intandem or physically interconnected such as with an I beam, if desired,to mount and support a machine.

We claim:

1. An assembly for mounting looms and the like to control the vibrationthereof during operation, comrpising a first plate adapted to support aloom foot on one surface thereof, a second plate positioned beneath saidfirst plate, and resilient means positioned between and interconnectingsaid first and second plates, said resilient means comprising at leastone grommet attached to said first and second plates by a pair ofindependent studs which are embedded therein and protrude verticallytherefrom, said first and second plates being attached to said grommetby engagement of said plates with said studs, whereby said first plateand a loom supported thereon are permitted to vibrate in a planeparallel to said second plate, and bearing means positioned between saidfirst and second plates to provide a surface for said first plate toslide across when such loom is operated.

2. The assembly of claim] in which said bearing means are formed of amaterial having a low coefficient of friction.

3. The assembly of claim 2 in which said bearing means are formed ofpolytetrafluoroethylene.

4. The assembly of claim 1 in which said first plate includes a coatingof abrasive on one surface thereof. 5. The assembly of claim 1 in whicha shim is positioned between said resilient means and said second plateto accommodate machines of different weights.

6. The assembly of claim [including vibration pads positioned underneathsaid second plate adjacent the ends thereof to support the same and toassist in dampening vertical vibrations produced by operation of theloom.

7. Anassembly for mounting looms and the like to control vibrationsproduced during opration, comprising a first plate adapted to support aloom foot on the upper surface thereof, a second plate positionedbeneath said first plate, a pair of resilient grommets attached to andpositioned between said first and second plates adjacent the endsthereof to interconnect said first and second plates and to support saidfirst plate in operative position, said grommets including independentstuds embedded therein and protruding vertically therefrom and attachedto said first and second plates by engagement of said studs with saidplates, and bearing means positioned between said first and secondplates to provide a surface for said first plate to slide across whensuch loom is operated.

8. The assembly of claim 7 in which said first plate includes a coatingof abrasive on its upper surface.

9. The assembly of claim I in said resilient means comprise a singlerubber grommet positioned between and attached to said first and secondplates substantially centrally of the length of said plates, and bearingmeans positioned between said first and second plates on opposite sidesof said grommet to provide a'surface for said first plate to slideacross when such loom is operated.

10. The assembly of claim 7 in which said grommets are rubber and saidbearing means are formed of a material having a low coefficient offriction.

11. The assembly of claim 7 in which a shim is positioned between saidresilient means and said second plate to accommodate looms of differentweight.

12. The assembly of claim 7 including vibration pads positionedunderneath said second plate adjacent the ends thereof to support thesame and to assist in dampening vertical vibrations produced byoperation of the

1. An assembly for mounting looms and the like to control the vibrationthereof during operation, comrpising a first plate adapted to support aloom foot on one surface thereof, a second plate positioned beneath saidfirst plate, and resilient means positioned between and interconnectingsaid first and second plates, said resilient means comprising at leastone grommet attached to said first and second plates by a pair ofindependent studs which are embedded therein and protrude verticallytherefrom, said first and second plates being attached to said grommetby engagement of said plates with said studs, whereby said first plateand a loom supported thereon are permitted to vibrate in a planeparallel to said second plate, and bearing means positioned between saidfirst and second plates to provide a surface for said first plate toslide across when such loom is operated.
 2. The assembly of claim 1 inwhich said bearing means are formed of a material having a lowcoefficient of friction.
 3. The assembly of claim 2 in which saidbearing means are formed of polytetrafluoroethylene.
 4. The assembly ofclaim 1 in which said first plate includes a coating of abrasive on onesurface thereof.
 5. The assembly of claim 1 in which a shim ispositioned between said resilient means and said second plate toaccommodate machines of different weights.
 6. The assembly of claim 1including vibration pads positioned underneath said second plateadjacent the ends thereof to support the same and to assist in dampeningvertical vibrations produced by operation of the loom.
 7. An assemblyfor mounting looms and the like to control vibrations produced duringopration, comprising a first plate adapted to support a loom foot on theupper surface thereof, a second plate positioned beneath said firstplate, a pair of resilient grommets attached to and positioned betweensaid first and second plates adjacent the ends thereof to interconnectsaid first and second plates and to support said first plate inoperative position, said grommets including independent studs embeddedtherein and protruding vertically therefrom and attached to said firstand second plates by engagement of said studs with said plates, andbearing means positioned between said first and second plates to providea surface for said first plate to slide across when such loom isoperated.
 8. The assembly of claim 7 in which said first plate includesa coating of abrasive on its upper surface.
 9. The assembly of claim 1in said resilient means comprise a single rubber grommet positionedbetween and attached to said first and second plates substantiallycentrally of the length of said plates, and bearing means positionedbetween said first and second plates on opposite sides of said grommetto provide a surface for said first plate to slide across when such loomis operated.
 10. The assembly of claim 7 in which said grommets arerubber and said bearing means are formed of a material having a lowcoefficient of friction.
 11. The assembly of claim 7 in which a shim ispositioned between said resilient means and said second plate toaccommodate looms of different weight.
 12. The assembly of claim 7including vibration pads positioned underneath said second plateadjacent the ends thereof to support the same and to assist in dampeningvertical vibrations produced by operation of the loom.